Restoration

Project Goals: To improve water quality by restoring riparian stream buffers along Wolf Run Creek by engaging community leadership and volunteers in a coordinated, quality assured effort.

Project Objectives: To create and maintain stream buffer demonstration projects, and engage neighborhood leadership in maintaining stream buffers on both public and private property. To recruit, train, supply and support volunteer stewardship groups to assist LFUCG streamside property owners in managing vegetative riparian buffers along Wolf Run and its tributaries. To educate the public about the value of streamside buffers, to conduct performance monitoring showing water quality impacts of streamside buffer projects.

Project Partnerships: will include a network of volunteers, botanists, landscape designers, professional contractors, water quality specialists and administrative support. Friends of Wolf Run inc. is incorporated in Kentucky and is currently in good standing with the Secretary of State and the US Internal Revenue Service as a as a 501(c)3 Tax Exempt Organization.

Project Need: LFUCG Greenways and Parks land use policies call for a 25′ streamside buffer along waterways. This policy has limited understanding and acceptance among adjacent property owners and neighborhood groups. By establishing and maintaining demonstration projects, developing source materials for native riparian plant species and by recruiting local volunteers to assist LFUCG Land managers in maintaining these buffers by removing trash, controlling invasive species and planting native plants, we accomplish three things:

Improvement of the quality of these streamside buffers

Engage public understanding of the purpose and function of these vegetative buffers in order to reduce complaints from adjacent residents.

Provide a test/demonstration area that private property owners can use to adopt similar practices on their streamside areas.

Project impact on water quality: Wolf Run Watershed is identified as an impaired waterway through the US EPA 303(d) listing process. Impairments include

Nutrients/Eutrophication,

Pathogens, and

Aquatic Life Support failure from habitat loss.

Riparian areas along wolf run also suffer from invasive plant infestations from Bush Honeysuckle. Bush honeysuckle reduces the effectiveness of stream side buffers by killing all the under story plants beneath their crown exposing bare soil, reducing the filtering capacity, increasing erosion and bank instability.

By restoring and maintaining native vegetative buffers along our waterways we can address all of these impairments by:

Project Strategy and work plan: Our model for work involves several discrete project elements:

Volunteer Stream Buffer Stewardship recruitment, training and support
-Ongoing support for existing volunteer leadership through funding and technical assistance
-field days and demonstration workshops

-Support for new projects tackling several new neighborhoods that have not participated in the past.

-marking areas planted with educational signange and “Stream Buffer” boundary markers so that community members and mowing contractors are aware of the effort

involves identifying and recruiting volunteers from neighborhoods adjacent to particular parks, greenways or other public spaces. This is accomplished by engaging residents in a progressive level of involvement/work activities:

Conducting stream walks along portions of the stream and inviting area residents via e-mail, door to door flyers, post cards and/or neighbor to neighbor personal invitations. During stream walks we discuss water quality, habitat and stream side buffer issues and management strategies with the residents. We discuss and seek approval for a remediation plan for the stream from those participating.

Attacking Invasive Plants via bushwhacking parties. Using hand tools to remove bush honeysuckle, garlic mustard, multi-flora rose, and Japanese Knot Weed. These activities involve treating cut shrubs with herbicide in accordance with practices developed by the Invasive Plant Working Group.

Follow up Native Plantings using volunteers to install perennials, shrubs and trees according to a planting plan.

Leadership training and support through field days, on-site consultations with restoration experts

Education and Outreach through distribution of “Living Along Kentucky Streams” and a “Stream Buffer Brochure” produced by the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service at work days, when promoting events and door to door distribution to stream side property owners.

Effectiveness Monitoring: Continuing water quality checks for field parameters, (Dissolved Oxygen, pH, Temperature and Conductivity) as well as nutrients via field spectrophotometers and pathogens via E.Coli analysis in cooperation with LFUCG Town Branch Lab and Bluegrass Community and Technical College

Identification and Support for” Key Stewards” to provide ongoing leadership for the parcel/greenway to organize follow-up efforts to keep invasive in check, water plants, and organize additional work days to take place beyond the scope of the project.